U.S. lawmakers gather in Bourne for Canal bridges meeting with regional officials

Walker Armstrong, Cape Cod Times
·3 min read
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A joint delegation of U.S. lawmakers and a senior adviser in the Biden administration voiced their commitment to secure funding to replace the 88-year-old Bourne and Sagamore bridges during a roundtable discussion on Friday at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy with Cape and Island regional officials and state legislators.

The meeting comes two months after Gov. Maura Healey’s administration filed a “competitive” grant application for $1.4 billion to be used for the bridge replacement project, a second-try effort after the federal government rejected a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant application in January.

Speaking to reporters and officials at the meeting, senior adviser to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu said the rate of successfully securing money for large infrastructure projects is low, but the successful applications have wide-ranging collaboration and support from local and state officials — an element missing in the first round of applications.

Mitch Landrieu, special adviser to the president, right, answers a reporter's question about bridge funding at Massachusetts Maritime Academy which hosted a meeting of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges. He was joined at the head of the table by Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren.
Mitch Landrieu, special adviser to the president, right, answers a reporter's question about bridge funding at Massachusetts Maritime Academy which hosted a meeting of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges. He was joined at the head of the table by Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren.

“When there is state participation, local participation and federal participation … there is a better chance of success than for projects that are not scoped appropriately and are not ready to go,” the former New Orleans mayor said.

Landrieu, who could not comment specifically on the open U.S. Department of Transportation grant application, said there are 45,000 bridges in the country in some form of disrepair. But he said the Cape bridges are high on the list in terms of being vital regional infrastructure.

One lane open in each direction on Friday on the Bourne Bridge as construction continues.
One lane open in each direction on Friday on the Bourne Bridge as construction continues.

“There are many, but they're not as many that, again, are in the realm of really important ones, and, of course, these fall into that (category),” he said, referring to the canal bridges.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said in the meeting replacement of the bridges is critical for public safety, just as much as economic development and transportation infrastructure upgrades.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, holds up a copy of a bridge construction report as she is joined by Sen. Ed Markey, left, and Mitch Landrieu at Massachusetts Maritime Academy which hosted a meeting Friday of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges. Landrieu is a special adviser to President Biden.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, holds up a copy of a bridge construction report as she is joined by Sen. Ed Markey, left, and Mitch Landrieu at Massachusetts Maritime Academy which hosted a meeting Friday of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges. Landrieu is a special adviser to President Biden.

“These problems are getting worse. The bridges are slowing down responses to emergency services and preventing seniors from getting to doctor's appointments,” Warren said. “They are leaving residents vulnerable to climate-driven catastrophes, and their dire state threatens the entire tourist industry on the Cape, a major driver of the entire commonwealth economy.”

Lingering on the horizon, though not a total certainty, is the possibility of major rehabilitation for the Canal bridges, which U.S. Rep. Bill Keating said would cause a significant disruption to both the replacement project and the lives of commuters and residents alike.

“The timeline for major rehabilitation is fast approaching,” Keating said. “You saw today, the impact of closing two of the four lanes of the Bourne Bridge. But under major rehabilitation, the Bourne Bridge would be completely closed for five months and lane closures would likely continue for 16 months.”

Mitch Landrieu, special adviser to the president, answers a reporter's question about bridge funding at Massachusetts Maritime Academy which hosted a meeting on Friday of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges.
Mitch Landrieu, special adviser to the president, answers a reporter's question about bridge funding at Massachusetts Maritime Academy which hosted a meeting on Friday of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy president Fran McDonald, back to camera, greets Mitch Landrieu and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren as they arrive Friday at the Buzzards Bay campus which hosted a meeting of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges.
Massachusetts Maritime Academy president Fran McDonald, back to camera, greets Mitch Landrieu and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren as they arrive Friday at the Buzzards Bay campus which hosted a meeting of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges.

At a meeting in September, Massachusetts Department of Transportation project manager Bryan Cordeiro said major rehabilitation would interfere with financing the replacement project. But mandatory major rehabilitation for the Bourne Bridge would only occur if a bridge inspection by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deemed major infrastructure rehabilitation necessary.

Keating said it is ultimately the federal government's responsibility to replace the Bourne and Sagamore bridges.

“We also recognize that every lane closure, every minute stuck in traffic, is a reminder of the failure of the federal government to replace these bridges,” Keating said.

Mitch Landrieu, special adviser to the president, left, joins Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey as they listen to US Rep. Bill Keating speak remotely via Zoom at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. The academy hosted a meeting of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges.
Mitch Landrieu, special adviser to the president, left, joins Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey as they listen to US Rep. Bill Keating speak remotely via Zoom at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. The academy hosted a meeting of federal, state and local officials to talk about construction of the new canal bridges.

Construction of the Cape Cod Canal more than100 years ago made the Cape into an island, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said in the meeting, marking the beginning of the bridges’ utility and importance to the region. Now that the bridges are “nearing the end of their lives,” Markey said the Cape is at another crossroad.

“Far from being a welcoming gateway to the Cape today, the bridges are a choke point for traffic and the Cape's future,” Markey said. “There's only so many times you can put lipstick on a pig before the pig will not even get you to the Market Basket.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter:@jd__walker.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Roundtable in Bourne on Canal bridges feature U.S. lawmakers